If you’ve ever thought that you needed to replace your lock, then don’t worry you’re not alone. Most phone calls we receive from people with lock problems automatically presume that they need a replacement. For the majority of these people, only a small portion may require a lock replacement. For the other 90% of them, a simple rekeying of the lock is all that’s required. When we’ve asked our customers many of them aren’t too sure of the difference between rekeying and replacing a lock. For that reason we’ve decided to create this blog to try and clear the air.

Difference Between Rekeying and Replacing a Lock 

When replacing a lock you are physically removing the locking mechanism and replacing it with another one. When rekeying a lock you are altering the pins of the lock and making it so different that none of the original keys will work with this lock again.

Why Would you Rekey a Lock? – Common Misunderstandings

For any problems that exist with your lock, you can generally have it rekeyed. If someone has run-off with one of your keys and you don’t want this key working with your locks, then you can just have the locks rekeyed. A lot of the time people will try to get their locks replaced when they move into a new home. This is very expensive and can be quite timely to do. If you instead have your locks rekeyed, none of the existing keys will work with the rekeyed lock.

Sometimes for old locks, customers think that they have to be replaced. This can be something very expensive to do if you’re trying to find a similar looking lock that matches the style of the old one. For the majority of old locks, we can rekey them also. This won’t damage the lock or its surroundings.

Costs of Rekeying a Lock

The price of rekeying a lock is generally standard across all standard locks. The price to replace a lock however can vary quite dramatically. When replacing a lock you need to consider the labour costs involved as well as purchasing the actual lock. With rekeying a lock, the process is generally the same and therefore the price is also.

If you have any more questions about the difference between rekeying and replacing a lock and whether or not you need to have your locks rekeyed or replaced then feel free to contact Five Star Locksmiths on 1800 348 378.